Thread by @EdOverbeek

I’d like to share a few thoughts about Chelsea Clinton, Representative Omar, and Donald Trump, from the perspective of one Jewish person deeply opposed to Israeli apartheid. I’ll try to keep this short. /1

You can call out anti-Semitism without being Islamophobic. And vice versa. It’s necessary. And it’s not hard, although it can take some effort to learn what the pitfalls are and how to avoid them. /2

Don’t let non-Jews tell you what doesn’t count as anti-Semitism. Listen to Jewish people. More than one - no one person speaks for all of us.

The same goes for Islamophobia. Listen to Muslim people.

This is something Twitter is actually good for. /3

Some of the people who insisted there was nothing problematic about Omar’s comments on dual allegiance and Israel hypnotizing the world, are now saying Clinton’s response was unambiguously Islamophobic.

This isn’t helpful. If Clinton’s impact matters, surely Omar’s does too. /4

Although I want Representative Omar to choose her words with more care, I still admire her and consider her an ally. I want to be her ally too. And I can’t do that without listening to Muslim people about Islamophobia. /5

I’m all for nuanced discussion about these issues. We need to hold ourselves and our leaders accountable.

But it needs to be proportional… /6

Focusing more on this than on the fascists only helps the fascists. They want us fighting amongst ourselves. So does the press. We don’t need to play into their hands. /end